Among The Stars
by AppleCiderr
Summary: Seto Kaiba sacrifices himself in order to save millions of lives, leaving the Earth and his brother behind in the process. The world honors his heroism, while those who knew him well mourn his death. Little does anyone know, Seto Kaiba is still very much alive, but very far from home. This time, it will take much more than a space elevator to get back to Earth.
1. Chapter 1

"Awww! Why not?"

Seto couldn't help the slightly annoyed sigh that escaped him, staring down at the wide, pleading eyes of his younger brother. Not about to let his resolve break, the CEO crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Mokuba, you have school," He pointed out.

"But I've skipped before! Please Seto! I wanna go to the space station with you!" Mokuba begged.

Seto have the teen a nod of agreement. "Yes you have, and you also skipped a few days last week," He pointed out,"If you do it too much, you're going to get in trouble."

"I don't care!" Mokuba exclaimed,"I want to spend time with you, big brother! You promised!"

Seto's heart suddenly felt as if it had been squeezed, a cringe coming over his face at the reminder. When he had returned from his visit to Yami, he was greeted by a heartbroken Mokuba that believed he was never coming back.

Since the incident, Seto had thrown away his obsession with the pharaoh and focused even more on his little brother. The space station became more for research purposes than anything. Seto was still there during a majority of the week, however.

 _Mokuba is right… I've been doing it again…_ He realized, a soft sigh escaping from his lips. His blue eyes locked with Mokuba's and he reached out, ruffling the younger's hair.

"Tell you what," He began,"You go to school, and I'll be there to pick you up. We'll do whatever you want for the rest of the day."

Mokuba's eyes widened, exploding with happiness. "Really? Okay! I'll go to school!" He exclaimed, turning to run up the stairs; He suddenly scrambled backwards, placing his finger on his chest. "Cross your heart?"

Seto rolled his eyes, chuckling at Mokuba's antics. "Alright, alright," He said, placing his finger over his heart and making an X mark. "Cross my heart."

Mokuba smiled happily, before taking off up the stairs to prepare for his day.

The older watched him go, fondness surrounding his soul, and made sure to finish his breakfast while trying to ignore the churning feeling in his stomach.

Despite the happy plans he and Mokuba had made, Seto had a sinking feeling that something bad was going to occur.

* * *

After dropping off his brother, Seto went straight to the space station. He wanted to get through as much work as possible in order to spend more time with Mokuba.

That churning feeling, no matter what Seto was doing, just wouldn't go away. He tried to tell himself that nothing would go wrong, but he trusted his gut too much to do that.

And just as he finished up his work…. His gut was proven right.

A red light suddenly came on, an alarm blaring through the space station. Seto jumped in his seat, before running out to where the other scientists were staring.

"What's going on?!" He demanded, coming up to the screens nearby. Once his blue eyes caught sight of what was displayed, his heart dropped.

On their sensors was a large blinking light, heading straight towards Earth. It seemed to be going so fast that their sensors couldn't get an exact measurement.

"If that hits, it could kill millions!" A frantic scientist exclaimed.

"It's estimated trajectory is straight towards Japan!" Another cried.

Seto slammed his hand down. "Everyone calm down! Panicking won't do anything!" He snapped.

The group went silent, looking at the young man with worry. After his outburst, Seto's darkened eyes went back to staring at the sensor.

 _If that hits… It will kill millions.. It could start a tsunami or worse natural disasters...It will kill Mokuba…_ Seto realized.

Hopelessness filled him, but then… Something on the sensor caught his attention. The object would fly right past their space station… It was extremely close to them.

His hand curled into a fist, and resolve began to fill him. Seto knew what he had to do.

"All of you, take the elevator back down," He ordered, causing them all to hesitate. " _Now!"_ He barked.

They quickly scrambled to follow his orders except for one. An older woman with grayish black hair. Her dark eyes watched him, softly asking,"What are you going to do?"

Seto's throat suddenly felt tight, his whole body boy shaking as he turned to her and, in a cracking voice, answered,"What I have to."

Seto turned back around, listening to the sound of the elevator closing. Once it came back up, he moved into action.

His shaking hand slammed down on the emergency button. The blaring alarm sounded again as all the doors began to close and lock tight.

Then, after taking frantic breaths, he declared,"Computer, disconnect the space elevator."

The computer followed orders easily, and Seto could hear the hiss of air as the elevator was detached. The next part, however, Seto had to do manually.

He began pressing several buttons and controls, watching the sensor carefully. He navigated the now mobile station in front of the flaming object's path.

The sensor was blaring madly, there was a bright light coming closer to him. Seto stared right at it, his hand reached to his chest and clutching at his necklace.

He flicked it open one last time, staring at the image of his little brother. "Mokuba…" He whispered,"I'm sorry…"

He shut the locket, holding it close to his chest, and closing his darkened eyes.

Only seconds later, a blinding hot pain hit, and everything faded away…

* * *

People on the ground stared up in horror; the explosion was large enough to be seen in the sky. But, nothing came to hit Earth. Seto Kaiba had saved them all.

Mere minutes after the impact, a frantic voice could be heard. "Where is he!? Where is Seto!?" The young voice yelled.

Mokuba shoved his way through the crowd frantically, eyes on the crowd of white lab coats he saw near the elevator.

With determination growing, Mokuba shoved aside the last obstacle and ran up to the Kaiba Corp researches.

"Hey!" He yelled again,"Where's Seto!?"

Their faces all turned pale, and then became darkened. Mokuba's heart began to try and break through his chest, years tumbling down his cheeks.

"Where is he!?" He yelled once more," _WHERE'S MY BIG BROTHER!?_ "

One of the older researchers moved forward, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Mokuba…" She softly began,"Mr. Kaiba is the one who piloted the station in front of the object. He saved us all..."

The young boy's heart dropped, and everything around him faded away. He dropped to his knees, staring at nothing in particular.

"No… No…" He croaked,"It.. Seto… Why?"

The child descended into sobs, and those around him desperately tried to comfort the young one. Nothing worked; Mokuba would never be whole again.

His big brother was gone, and this time he wasn't coming back.

* * *

He was floating… Floating in the middle of the air. In his fading vision, he saw little red droplets in the air.. Floating around him.

He felt a throbbing, and yet at the same time he was so… So numb. _Is this what death feels like?_ He wondered.

Breathing was starting to become difficult, as the black fuzz began to crawl up his vision. The glass in front of him began cracking more. Even if he was in his right mind, there would be no time to come up with an escape plan.

Not that he cared, he had already accepted his death.

As the black began to close in once more, a bright light shone over him. With what little air he had, the young man chuckled. _So this is how it ends…_

With really no other options, his darkened blue eyes slid shut. Just as he began to fade away, several silhouettes appeared in front of the light, staring through the glass right at him. But he had no chance to react, as the darkness took him once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten years… Ten long years…

Sometimes he still couldn't believe it had been that long.

The now twenty three year old Mokuba stood in front of the grave, staring at the name written on it with sadness emanating from him. It wasn't just any name, it was his big brother's. Seto Kaiba… But it really wasn't his grave, was it?

As far as anyone knew, Seto's body was floating in cold darkness of space. The coffin that was below the well manicured grass was empty, it wasn't truly his brother's resting place. Still, it was easier than looking up at the sky and wondering how it must have felt to die in such a way…

Mokuba sighed, getting down on his knee, and placing the lilies against the stone, which was already covered in flowers from hundreds, probably thousands of others. "Hey big brother…" He whispered softly,"I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while, work at Kaiba Corp has been crazy, especially since we're working on our new virtual reality technology."

He got to his feet, laughing a little bit. "It's kind of funny, the big five were so mad at you for trying to make those virtual reality pods, and now it's one of the most popular things out there! But don't worry, Duel Monsters is still pretty popular," He promised,"We released several virtual reality Duel Monster games, and Yugi helped us release the one that the big five tried to trap you in, but we made sure nothing like that could happen again!"

The twenty three year old chuckled at the memory, but then his violet eyes filled with sadness. "Everything is going so well…" He whispered,"But… It'd be perfect if you were here with me… You saved billions of people that day, you died a hero, and I feel selfish for saying this but… But.. I don't care. I just want you back…"

He sighed, running a hand through his shoulder length hair and wiping his eyes on his white suit coat. "I miss you so much, big brother," He whispered,"I miss you every day… I…" He lost the power to form words, and simply let his tears fall once more. He didn't know how long he stood there, staring at the shiny gravestone and the beautiful flowers that surrounded it.

Then, Mokuba's watch rang, causes his attention to go elsewhere. He sighed at seeing a message from Roland. "I have to go…" He explained, reaching out and placing his hand on the gravestone, his other hand clutching the locket that his still wore. "I'll come visit you again soon, I promise, goodbye Seto."

The young man turned away from the grave, forcing himself not to look back as he returned to his limo. Ten years had come and gone, and Mokuba had accepted the truth already, that his brother was never coming back...

But that didn't make it hurt any less.

* * *

"Uuugh!"

Yugi couldn't stop himself from laughing as he watched Joey struggle to carry several suitcases along with the cake they had picked up. Mai followed him, hands empty except for the coffee she was sipping. Yugi, his grandfather, and Tea watched from behind, each with their own suitcase. Tristan followed behind them, idly chatting with Serenity.

"I don't understand why we have to do this every year!" Joey whined, nearly stumbling over his own feet.

Tea gasped and smacked his shoulder (which didn't help). "Shame on you, Joey! You know why we do this. Mokuba really needs us around this time of year!" She reminded him.

"It's not that!" Joey snapped back, turning to glare at Mai. "It just seems like everytime we come here, you forget how to hold a damn suitcase!"

Mai raised her eyebrows, seemingly unimpressed with him as she wiggled her fingers in front of him. "And ruin these nails? Sorry, honey, I can't have that happen!" She teased.

The blonde growled again, narrowing his eyes and yelling,"Sometimes I wonder why I even put up with you!"

Nobody was fazed by their argument. Mai and Joey's relationship was a weird dynamic, they always seemed to be breaking up and then getting back together. It had happened so many times that the tabloids quit reporting it, it just seemed to be a part of their relationship.

Yugi and Tea had also been dating, although their relationship was going much smoother than Joey's. Even though they were often apart for long periods of time due to Tea's dancing career and Yugi's work with Kaiba corp and his own company. Tristan was dating a girl around their age named Miho Nosaka (who was strangely familiar to all of them..) and they had been going strong for almost seven years. Sadly, she couldn't come with them as she stayed behind to run the Vet that her and Tristan owned after Tristan convinced his father to let him choose his own path.

Due to their busy schedules, it wasn't often they could get together in person, especially for long periods of time. There was one event every year that they never skipped, and it was the anniversary of Seto Kaiba's death.

Every year, they dropped whatever they were doing and came back to Domino City. They would go to Kaiba Manor and would stay with Mokuba, comforting him during the rough time. It had been a tradition every since it first happened, and they planned to continue it until they were all old and gray.

Even Solomon (who didn't particularly like Seto) would join in. The media would also mention it, and the world would remember the day that the great and supposedly heartless Seto Kaiba gave his life to save the planet.

That's why they were all back in Domino and on the doorstep of Kaiba Manor. _I wonder how Mokuba has been doing.._ Yugi thought. _We talk over the phone and video chat, but it has been a decade since… Since the incident. I hope it isn't hitting him too hard._

To save Joey's dignity, Yugi hurried past him and rang the doorbell. It only took a few seconds for the door to be opened by Roland. He smiled at them, having gotten used to their visits, and calmly said,"Hello everyone. Mokuba's been expecting you."

To everyone's relief, he took the cake and one of the suitcases from Joey and stopped the blonde's whining. They then followed the security guard inside the huge home and to the living area.

Inside was none other than Mokuba. He looked much different than he was ten years ago. He was as tall as Seto had been, and his long hair was pulled up in a ponytail. He was wearing a long sleeved blue and black striped shirt and some jeans, an outfit that reminded Yugi of the young child Mokuba once was.

Mokuba's violet eyes finally noticed their arrival, and he gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hey you guys," He said in his soft voice,"It's good to see you again."

"Hey Mokuba!" Joey exclaimed, dropping Mai's suitcases and then running over to the young man. He ruffled his hair before slinging his arm over the Younger's shoulders. "Long time no see! I heard about your new virtual reality headset! Did you save any for us?"

Thankfully, the young man chuckled at Joey's joke. "Maybe," He teased back, before looking at the rest of the group. "Thank you guys for coming… It means a lot."

The choked, whispered words made it hard for any of them to respond. They knew how hard it was for Mokuba, and how even small reminders of Seto (especially on the day of his death) could make it even worse. They weren't there to make things harder, they were there to make him feel better.

Solomon made the first move, calmly asking,"Is anyone going to explain to this old man what Viral Reality is or am I just going to be kept out of the loop?"

They spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening together playing video games, eating delicious foods, and enjoying each other's company. As the sun began to set, Tea then excitedly told them all about a new food she wanted them to try that she found out about while on tour in America called smores.

So, they all migrated out to the large backyard and sat around the firepit and watched in awe as Tea created the marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker creation. Joey was practically drooling and even shoved Tristan out of the way to get one first.

Yugi simply laughed as he watched them mess around and argue. _Just like old times…_ He thought, turning to look at the rest of the group. Mokuba, although he was smiling, had his eyes pointed to the sky. The stars all twinkled down at them and reflected back in those violet orbs that only seemed to show sadness.

A frown graced the king of game's face, and he moved from his seat by Tea over to where Mokuba was. "What are you thinking about?" He asked casually, although he already knew the answer.

"Seto…" The young man admitted, squeezing his smore a little tighter. "I just keep thinking about what he must have been thinking… How did he feel in those last few seconds? Was it quick? Did he think of me?"

The only sound became the crackling of the fire, as the gang all shared sad looks. Yugi turned his own eyes to the sky, and softly replied,"I'm sure he was thinking of you, Mokuba, he always was. And I bet the bulk of his decision was because he knew that you would live on."

Mokuba seemed to already know this, as he nodded and sniffed, rubbing his shiny eyes. "Yeah, I know, but it doesn't make things any easier… I just wish he could come back, you know? I miss him every day…"

"You know, kid," Joey continued,"I remember how Kaiba was when it came to you. He's probably in the afterlife right now, impatiently waiting for you and probably trying to force Atem to duel again!"

They all had a little laugh at that, before turning to look back at the sky once more. This time, they saw something different. There was a bright light that looked like a star speeding across the sky.

"A shooting star!" Serenity said with a gasp,"I've never seen one before!"

But as they continued to watch the star, Yugi realized something… "Guys… I don't think that's a star…" He told them. As the others returned their sights to the bright light, they realized that Yugi was right.

That thing, whatever it was, seemed to be coming closer, and closer. The white light came closer and closer, and suddenly their fire went out, the trees started swaying violently. The group quickly got to their feet, backing away from the strange object.

As it got closer, the light seemed to fade away and reveal a strange oval shaped floating object that was a sparkly silver color and the size of a large airplane. It slowly moved to the ground, and seemed to embed itself in the ground.

"What is that thing!?" Joey exclaimed, shielding both Mai and Serenity behind him. "What- What do we do!?"

The silver oval then grew a circular hole in the middle, revealing tall silhouettes behind a bright light. A ramp that matched the oval's color emerged and brought them to the ground. The strange silhouettes then descended to the ground, but the bright light was still hiding their features.

They stood there, staring at Yugi and his friends and muttering in a strange language that Yugi couldn't understand. It didn't sound like Japanese, it didn't sound like English… It didn't sound like _anything_ from Earth.

Finally, it seemed the tension had become too much for someone. Yugi heard the stomping of feet and then a blonde head ran in front of them. "Yo! Don't just stand there whispering! Tell us who the hell you are and-"

The nearest silhouette suddenly raised some type of gun and shot towards Joey. A strange circular disk flew out and attached to his chest. The man cried out in pain, falling backwards and thrashing for a moment before going completely still.

"Joey!" Yugi cried, letting go of Tea's hand and running towards his best friend. But before he could make it to him, he heard the sound of the gun go off again and a sharp pain in his chest. Yugi couldn't even react as he dropped to the ground as well… And then everything went black.


End file.
